White smoke has appeared above the Sistine Chapel, signalling to the world the secretive conclave has chosen Pope Francis‘s successor.
Millions now await the announcement of the new head of the Catholic Church after the decision made on Thursday by 133 cardinals who gathered in the Sistine Chapel for the historic vote.
They came together at 4.30pm local time on Wednesday in the 15th-century chapel for the first ballot, which was inconclusive, but reconvened for three more sessions of voting before reaching a two-thirds majority, which was signalled when the white smoke appeared about 6pm local time on Thursday.
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The signal of the historic decision prompted cheers from the crowd of faithful in St Peter’s Square, many of whom travelled internationally to come together and await the decision.
The identity of the pope and the name he has chosen as pontiff will be announced to the world from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica shortly.
The new pope will then step forward to deliver his first public address and blessing to the gathered crowds.
Chiara Pironi, a 26-year-old who lives in Rome, was one of those waiting to witness the outcome, which will go on to influence global affairs during a period of significant international instability.
“I don’t want to miss that moment,” she said.
Pope Francis died on 21 April after over a decade as head of the Church. He was buried on 26 April.
It is the largest and most diverse conclave to decide the next pope in its centuries-old history, with many of the appointees, from 70 countries, picked by Pope Francis himself.
On Wednesday morning, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said the election of the new pope “is not a simple succession of persons”, in his homily during Mass at St Peter’s Basilica.
He urged cardinals to pray, for a Pope “who knows how best to awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual energies in today’s society.”
“May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede with her maternal intercession, so that the Holy Spirit will enlighten the minds of the Cardinal electors and help them agree on the Pope that our time needs,” he said.
While the conclave for the late Pope Francis also occurred over two days, the longest in history lasted nearly three years with the election of Pope Gregory X in 1271, according to EWTN Vatican, which was also the first in modern history.
Once a cardinal achieves the required 89 votes, he is asked if he accepts the role, and once he says yes, he must choose a papal name.
Then, he is taken to a small chamber off the Sistine Chapel called the “Room of Tears”, named for the emotional weight of the responsibility ahead, where he will put on the white papal vestments.
Immediately after that, the new Pope is introduced to the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica with the proclamation in Latin: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!” (“I bring you tidings of great joy: We have a pope!”)
Several candidates have emerged as frontrunners to succeed Pope Francis, including his top advisor Cardinal Pietro Parolin and fellow liberal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Filipino nicknamed “Asian Francis”.
But there are several conservative candidates also in the running, including Hungarian traditionalist Peter Erdo and Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
The frontrunners were all aware of the Italian adage that “he who enters a conclave as a pope, leaves it as a cardinal”.
